After practice I talked to my roommate from junior hockey, Mike Bozoian. Mike plays at Niagara now and is one of my good friends. I was looking forward to playing against him, but unfortunately he tore his MCL in a game against Air Force a few weeks ago and will have to miss the playoffs.

6:30 p.m.
We went out to dinner as a team at the restaurant we always eat at in Niagara. When we got back from dinner we went to the College Hockey America awards banquet in the convention center in the lobby of our hotel. David Guerrera, our goalie, was CHA MVP and also was honored as first team all-league along with Jason Durbin and Tyler Kindle. Chris Vail was also honored as he was awarded second team all-league. A fifth person honored was Coach Wilkinson as he was chosen as CHA coach of the year. Our captains Jason Durbin and Keith Stanich, along with Coach were presented the Bob Peters Trophy as CHA regular season champions. It is a great trophy, but it is a symbol of only one half of the goal we set back in September to be regular season and playoff champions in the CHA. The second half of our goal, to be playoff champion, is why we are here in Niagara and we are all focused on making that happen.

After the banquet we headed back to our rooms. Some guys did homework, some went to the pool others watched TV, but be sure all of our minds were on the job we came here to do: bring a CHA playoff championship back to Detroit.

March 14,2002
10 a.m.
We met in the lobby for breakfast. After breakfast most of the guys headed back to their rooms to rest up for practice. Tyler and I watched Dude Where’s My Car? on television. What an awful movie.

Noon
We jumped on the bus to Dwyer Arena for our 1 p.m. practice. We had another high tempo practice. Lots of flow drills and tons of shots for the goalies. We ended practice with a four on four scrimmage. I was on the gold team and all that I can say is we took the loss. After practice we ate lunch and coach gave us the afternoon to do as we like. Some of the fellas went to look check out the falls and others watched the NCAA basketball tournament on television.

6:30 p.m.
We headed back to the rink to watch the quarterfinal game between Air Force and Niagara. The rink had a good atmosphere and there was a buzz in the air. Before the game we found out Alabama-Huntsville had beaten Findlay 4-1 to set up a semifinal game with Bemidji State.

The game between Air Force and Niagara started out very hard. It seemed like there was a big hit on every shift. Air Force scored a power play goal early but Niagara came back quickly to tie the game at one. We left the game after the first period to go eat, and the score was still 1-1. During dinner Coach Mitchell gave us score updates by calling Keith on his cell phone. The game was over by the time we were done eating. The final score was 5-3 Air Force.

So our game is set. Seven o'clock tomorrow night we play Air Force for the right to play in the final Saturday night. When we got back to the hotel after the meal the most of the guys headed for bed while others went for a walk. All of us have one thing on our mind though, playing our best possible game against Air Force tomorrow night.

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12:30 p.m.
We met in a conference room in our hotel for our pre-game meeting. The coaches did a great job of preparing us for Air Force. It’s been a while since we last played Air Force, but that last game left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. We all know what we’re here to do, and Coach Wilkinson just reiterated that. After the meeting we headed for our pre-game meal.

7 p.m.
The puck drops. Durbin’s line: Jason, Jon Brink and Dusty Kingston, start. The first period ends 0-0. Both teams are playing tight defensive-minded hockey, the kind that wins in the playoffs. We had our chances in the first but just couldn’t seem to finish.

In the second it was more of the same. I missed on a breakaway, Tyler missed on a partial and we just couldn’t seem to find the net. Then we went on the power play about midway through the period. Tyler put a shot on net from the point that Nathan Rosychuck tipped past Air Force’s goalie. We had momentum for a few shifts then Air Force picked up a rebound goal late in the period. The second ended 1-1. We had confidence in our game heading into the locker room. There was no reason to panic.

In the third we went out stuck to our game and the pucks finally went in. Dusty got our second goal with about seven minutes left in the period. A few minutes later Jack Redwood scored to give us a two-goal cushion and that’s how it ended 3-1. It was a good win but only got us halfway to our goal of a playoff championship. In the locker room after the game guys were happy but most of our thoughts had already moved to playing UAH. After the game some guys went with family and friends to eat or talk but by midnight we all in our rooms thinking about the job we have to do Saturday night.

One thing that I haven’t mentioned, and I need to is, the amount of fan support we have from people who made the trip out here to New York. It is really great to look up in the stands and see all the WSU jerseys, sweatshirts and flags. I just want to say thanks to all of those people from the guys on the team.

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March 16, 2002
9 a.m.
Tyler and I were wide awake for our 9:30 a.m. breakfast. Neither of us slept much. I'm just so anxious for this day to begin. After breakfast Coach Wilkinson told those of us in the lineup we would be walking over to Horseshoe Falls at 11 a.m., while the guys who are not in the lineup would be skating at the rink at 10:30 a.m.

11 a.m.
We all met in the lobby to take our little walk over to the falls. We do this every trip to Niagara before the Saturday game. Usually we bus to the falls, but according to coach we were so close, we walked this time. The walk was good to get our legs going, but I could have done without the 40 mph wind blowing mist in my face. Even with the wind, all I can say for the falls are they are amazing. Just looking at them, make you feel pretty insignificant.

12:30 p.m.
After our walk we met back in a hotel conference room for our pre-game meeting. The coaches just reiterated the fact that we need to stick to the game plan that has proven successful all season for us. Coach also pointed out to us that unlike last year, this year we're the favorites and not to make the mistake UAH made against us last year. After the meeting we headed to the bus to go to our pre-game meal. On the way to the bus and the ride to our meal you could feel the intensity coming from everyone. We were all completely focused on UAH.

5:15 p.m.
We met in the lobby to head to the rink. After the meal most of us had headed back to our rooms and tried to relax and take a little nap. I know in our room Tyler and I couldn't sleep. We both were so nervous and anxious. Once we got to the rink though everyone just went about preparing for the game like any other. At this point in the season you don't want to change what works.

7 p.m.
Game time. (Jason) Durbin's line starts again tonight. Just about a minute and a half in UAH scores to take a 1-0 lead. The goal was kind of weird it was a rebound in the slot that only went in because it appeared that a UAH player knocked Dave (Guerrera) into the corner. Not the corner of the net, the corner of the rink. Usually that's goalie interference but apparently not in this referee's opinion. Even with the questionable goal no one panicked. The period ended 1-0. In the locker room everyone was calm and focused: we knew we were fine.

Early in the second Durbin scored to tie the game. Then two minutes later Billy Collins scored to give us a lead. We were starting to play better. Then we took a penalty about ten minutes in. Tyler scored short handed on a wrap around to make it 3-1. Most people wouldn't expect a defenseman to lead the rush short handed, but that's just the way Tyler plays. After the goal UAH came back on the same power play to make the score 3-2. For the final seven or eight minutes of the period the play was back and forth. UAH scored with eight seconds remaining to tie the score at three going into the third.

Some teams might panic in this situation, but we were all calm and had confidence in our game plan.

The third opened the way the second finished. Back and forth hard hitting hockey. UAH scored about five minutes in to take a 4-3 lead. When they did this you could see them sort of tighten up and just try to hang on. At this moment we started to press we put 20 shots on net in the third. UAH could barely come out of its zone. The game went right down to the wire and with 1:20 left Tyler scored his second goal of the night to tie the game at four. We finished the third and headed to overtime. Before the overtime we were all very calm. None of us were worried. Most of us had been in this situation last year and knew we'd come out on top.

Overtime opened with a little bit more cautious hockey. UAH and us both stuck to making the simple plays, being disciplined and playing tight defense. About 10 minutes into OT Jon Brink made a cut back move on the boards and brought the puck to the net. He tried to get it to Jason Durbin but a UAH defenseman pushed him right onto UAH's goalie and the puck squirted to Dusty on the "back door" and he buried it in the open net.

I really can't explain the feeling we had when we saw that puck go in. We paused then just went crazy.

Once we got the playoff trophy we didn't take the traditional lap. We took it over in front of the WSU section and every guy took a turn holding it up to our fans as a way of saying "thanks" for the support.

11 p.m.
Once we had showered and gotten changed we headed up for a post-game reception with all the people from WSU, our parents, girlfriends and fans. It was awesome. I just want to say thanks again to everyone for coming out to Niagara and supporting us.

After about an hour, we jumped on the bus to head back to Detroit. There was a feeling of pride on that bus, especially among the guys who have been here since day one and seen how far we have come in so short a time. We were all so proud of one another. However, as I end this journal. I just want everyone to know that we as a team know never to be completely satisfied as there is always another trophy to be won.